


Baby, it's cold inside

by Builder



Series: Canon ships and all that jazz [11]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Awesome Pepper Potts, Christmas, Drama, F/M, Holidays, Relationship(s), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 17:19:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17125532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Builder/pseuds/Builder
Summary: “There’s wax on the tablecloth,” Pepper says stonily.“Wait, what?”  Tony shakes his head, wondering what he’s missed.  There has to be context, somewhere.“The candles are dripping wax on the tablecloth.”“Oh.”  He’s in hot water.  Or hot wax.  “I’ll buy you a new one.”“It’s imported from Tibet,” Pepper sighs.“So what?  Don’t we pay extra for global shipping?”“It’s a one-of-a-kind piece, handmade by a woman in a mountain village.”  Pepper’s good like that.  But Tony knows what she really means.  He’s terrible by comparison.





	Baby, it's cold inside

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @builder051

Tony knows he has bad habits.  He knows Pepper knows he has bad habits.  He knows she knows he’ll never be totally rid of them.  But he also knows she expects him to try.  

He’s wading into dangerous waters starting a project within an hour of Christmas dinner.  But it’s not a formal occasion, it’s Pepper upstairs in the dining room with a bottle of wine and something in takeout boxes.  Well, Pepper would use plates.  Probably china from the cabinet in the hall.  She’d call the restaurant ahead of time and tell them not to include plastic cutlery in the pickup order.  She’s good like that.

But Tony’s good too.  He knows it takes him an average of 17 minutes to disassemble, weld, and reassemble one of the pulsar weapons on the palms of his gloves.  He’s timed himself.  So multiply by two, add a few more for the inevitable distraction, and he’s at…45?  Ish?  He has time.

He’s deep in the zone, welding mask pulled low over his face, when FRIDAY interrupts.  “Incoming call from Miss Potts.”

“Yep, soon, almost done,” Tony says automatically.  He hasn’t looked up since he got to the lab bench.  He has no idea how much time has passed, but he’s still on-task.  He’s not off on a tangent, which, to him, amounts to success.

It doesn’t last, though.  The second weld goes wrong, and the pulsar beam shoots out at an angle.  It’s only 5 degrees off or so, but that’ll never do.  Tony thinks about walking away, tackling it later, making the right choice.  But he can’t.  

He spends the next 10 minutes making excuses to himself as he uses tweezers to separate all the moving parts in the glove and lay them in rows on the lab bench.  If he leaves the project unfinished, he won’t stop thinking about it.  Pepper will talk to him, and he won’t be listening.  It’s better if he’s late for dinner and able to give her his full attention.  She’ll appreciate that.  Or at least he thinks she should.

“Miss Potts is ringing again,” FRIDAY says.

“Who did your speech drive?”  Tony sets down his tools.  “I gave you the accent, but we don’t say that this side of the channel.”

“Incoming call,” the AI corrects. 

“God, I know,” Tony says, feeling judged.  “Tell her just a second.”

“I’m being overridden, sir.”

“Hey, now–” Tony pulls a holographic screen out of the air.  Security breach?  Or just a bug in the system?

What he gets is a view of Pepper’s chin, her phone still obviously on the table in front of her as she messes with the video chat application.  When she’s ready, she raises the device to eye level, giving Tony a nauseating shift in perspective.  

“Hey, Pep.”  Tony catches sight of himself on camera and wipes hastily at the grease smudge on his cheek.

“There’s wax on the tablecloth,” Pepper says stonily.

“Wait, what?”  Tony shakes his head, wondering what he’s missed.  There has to be context, somewhere.

“The candles are dripping wax on the tablecloth.”

“Oh.”  He’s in hot water.  Or hot wax.  “I’ll buy you a new one.”

“It’s imported from Tibet,” Pepper sighs.

“So what?  Don’t we pay extra for global shipping?”

“It’s a one-of-a-kind piece, handmade by a woman in a mountain village.”  Pepper’s good like that.  But Tony knows what she really means.  He’s terrible by comparison.

“What do you want me to do?  How can I make it up to you?”  He should get a handle on that, the begging, the desire to please, the inability to take criticism.  But all he cares about now is making Pepper happy, lifting her spirits from the dumps he’s thrust them into, even if it wasn’t intentional.

“Tony…”  Pepper shakes her head.  “I don’t know why I thought tonight would be any different.  I don’t know why I thought Christmas would mean anything to you.”

“It does,” Tony says quickly.  He wipes his hands on his jeans and scans the lab for something to throw on over his sweaty t-shirt.  Doesn’t he have a blazer somewhere?  “I’m coming.  Right now.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen, hand-washing the tablecloth,” Pepper tells him.  Her tone is still stiff, but her lips twitch slightly.  “I’ll see if I can make time for you.”


End file.
